Wager
by MorganaxLexFay
Summary: Castle laid out the challenge.
1. Chapter 1

My Twelve Days of Christmas, non-Christmas related story. Ideally this will be a twelve part story, updated every day from now until Christmas. Forgive me if I don't manage to do it every day, or by my made up deadline. I have about half of it done along with a rough outline, but if you want to see it go somewhere, let me know! Hope you enjoy. Happy Holidays! :)

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Kate was sitting on the floor with her back against the couch. She used one arm to hold her knees up to her chest so she could rest her chin in the small gap between them. Her other hand was busy moving the can on the table, pushing the condensation around. She mused at her current blob, adding a trunk to turn it into an elephant.

"You wan' 'nother?"

"Sure," she said and sighed.

Why had she agreed to this? All she knew was her abilities had been called into question, and her pride made her see red. The only thing that mattered after that was burying him. She couldn't even remember how the conversation had started.

But the challenge was laid out.

And here they were.

So she stared at her elephant, slowly losing its form and becoming nothing more than a mess, while he stumbled to grab another case of beer from the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

I forgot to mention in the first part that I am trying something new with this fic. If you pick up on it, I'd like to know what you think. :)

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She added her empty can to the large collection next to her, and lifted her arms above her head, using the couch behind her to stretch her back. He'd given her more of a run for her money than anyone had in a long time, but he still didn't stand a chance. She was already ahead of him by three, and could probably continue for a while yet. He wasn't fairing so well, if the slurring was anything to go by, but she had to admit to herself that it had been a long time since she'd felt this good.

"Ya know somethin', Beckett?" She winced as he dropped roughly to the floor on the other side of the table and sliding the box beneath it. "You're good at this."

"Don't say you weren't properly warned."

It was juvenile. She could see that. Two adults have no reason to be participating in a drinking competition. They really had no place anywhere off of a college campus.

But he had to say she could never drink him under the table.

And here he was holding himself up with one.

So she cracked another can open, took a few sips, and watched him as he leaned more and more to the left, despite the hand he was using to support himself.


	3. Chapter 3

She rolled her eyes at him. This wasn't going to continue for very much longer. She hoped he'd throw in the towel before his body did it for him, but she knew just how stubborn he could be.

There would be no chance he'd raise a white flag willingly, and she certainly was not about to let him win. That would just be ridiculous.

"Why're you so good at it? You're so skinny... and girlish."

"'Girlish', Castle? Really? That's the best you can do?"

She was certain he was going to hit the ground at any moment. His capacity to not only form words, but to think of them had been severely diminished. Surely there was no possibility he could hold out another five minutes if he lacked words to describe her. He, who had a paradisiacal ability to craft an entire story using just the minutest of information to build from, was unable to describe his proclaimed muse.

But to her surprise, and quite possibly his own, he straightened a little.

And she couldn't help but wonder if this whole drinking adventure was just a rouse to get her to loosen up a bit.

So she strengthened her resolve to win, took another swig, and prayed that he wasn't about to vomit.


	4. Chapter 4

It was surprising how quickly the time had gone by while she was in his home. She'd always enjoyed the warm and welcoming feeling the loft seemed to radiate, but tonight it was exceptionally so. She wasn't sure if this was because of the cans she'd been steadily knocking back, or if it was due to her present company. When she let her gaze shift from the beer in her hand to said company, she couldn't help but allow the grin to light up her face.

"What're you smilin' at?"

"The fact that I'm about to be $50 richer," she said slyly while taking another slow sip.

Her presumptuous attitude didn't appear to register with him. He attempted to match her grin, succeeding only in a goofy, tired smirk while he reached under the table for another drink.

But his searching hand found her thigh instead.

And suddenly she lost the feeling of the alcohol clouding her brain.

So she took a deep breath and prepared to launch a barrage of verbal abuse at him.


	5. Chapter 5

She knew what his intentions were, and that groping her under a table in a drunken stupor was not among them, but it didn't abate the rage that consumed her. He had removed his hand the moment he had felt the fabric of her jeans, and proceeded to pull out another can without so much as a blink of an eye to acknowledge that he'd touched her. She stood abruptly, grasping the arm of the couch to steady herself when her head spun.

"Whas wrong? You're not gonna be sick are you? Means I win," he yelled triumphantly, flopping back to lay on the floor as she moved out of his line of vision.

She had no rebuttal as she roughly shoved her arms through the sleeves of her jacket.

"Where're you goin'?" He asked when he turned his head to see her stalk toward the door.

She turned when she heard him stumble in her direction, growing more frustrated when she saw him struggling to catch up with her on his hands and knees because standing was too difficult.

But it was enough to make her slow her pace.


	6. Chapter 6

She regretted turning back to see his pathetic figure struggling to close the distance between them. Not only did she regret seeing the sorry sight of him on his hands and knees, but she mostly regretted not seeing the wall move by its own volition.

"Oh my God! I tolly won!" Castle managed to yell between gasps for air and resounding whoops of laughter.

Maybe she wasn't as good as she thought.

"You walked into a wall, Beckett! Like... BAM!" He continued with the gasping and whooping, replaying the moment with his wildly gesturing arms.

She should have been more embarrassed, but judging by the manner in which he was rolling around on the floor, she was confident he would have no recollection of the mishap come morning. Though her cheeks still flamed red, she couldn't help but be amused at his antics.

But it still didn't change the way she had felt when she'd felt his hand on her leg, so she pulled her jacket around her tighter, dropped her smile, and turned back toward the door, expertly avoiding the moving wall.

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Halfway through! Thanks for all of the alerts and reviews. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Knowing the state he was in, she wasn't expecting him to be able to do anything to stop her from leaving, so when she felt the hand on her shoulder just as her own hand reached the door knob to exit his apartment, her heart leapt out of her chest. She had him in a wrist lock before she even realized who it was. Why hadn't she just assumed it was him?

"Apples! Apples! C'mon, Kate! Mercy! Lemme go!"

It was funny she forgot about him, she thought, as he was the only other person in the loft with her.

"You're a sore loser," he mumbled, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor while rubbing his wrist.

What a preposterous thought that was. Obviously she had not only made him cry out in pain at his attempt to stop her from leaving, but she was not the one on the ground, unable to stand steadily for more than a few seconds. It wasn't difficult to see who the winner was.

But maybe it wasn't such a clear cut case when she felt the wall move again to steady her own body.


	8. Chapter 8

"Where'd you think you were going?"

"Where did you possibly think I was going?"

"Can't let you leave'n your incapac...incapacitat...ed state."

She rolled her eyes at his look of triumph after forcing out the word. She began to ready herself to stand without the aid of the wall again, when she noticed his head loll forward.

"Hey," she said, nudging his leg with her foot. "Get up. You can't sleep here."

"S'my house. Sleep 'nywhere I want," he mumbled, slumping further to the ground.

Sighing, she knelt next to him. Taking his chin in one hand, she pat his cheek with increasing force until he opened his eyes to look at her angrily. Returning his glare with a far more intimidating one, she offered her arm to assist him in standing.

"Let's get you to bed, Castle."

Immediately he shifted his weight to her shoulder. 'Of course', she thought, 'that would cause him to perk up.'

"Been waitin' for you to say that all night."


	9. Chapter 9

"Quit stepping on my foot, you drunk."

"Stop puttin' your foot under mine."

"Do it again and I'll leave you to sleep it off on the floor."

She had been trying to lead him to his bedroom for what felt like eons. The walls, which had only just made her life complicated, had proven to be a valuable resource in facilitating their travel. She was thankful for them. Castle's staggering was enough of an obstacle to overcome, and she desperately wished she hadn't kicked her heels off at the door when his added weight had made her unsteady.

"S'okay. We can sleep here," he whispered and started to lower himself to the floor again.

"Your room is right there, you idiot."

She yanked him back up with a fistful of hair, and led him through the threshold of his bedroom. The swaying walls which had been assisting her in guiding him thus far, were now no longer available to help her make the last few yards to the bed in the center. She could feel the muscles in her back screaming at her as she adjusted him to take on more of his weight. Dragging him forward in wavering strides, she closed the distance. That is, until Castle's foot landed painfully on her own again, causing her to trip, and both of them to lurch forward onto the bed.

"Castle! You did that on purpose!"

She tried to shove his body off hers, but he proved too heavy for her after their arduous journey from the foyer.

"Nuh uh. You wan'ed to get in my bed. I knew you wouldn' be able to resiss my charms forever, Detetive."


	10. Chapter 10

"Let me up."

"Shuddup already. No more talkin'"

"So help me God, Castle, I will hurt you."

She continued to shove at his limbs futilely. Every time she managed to free herself from an arm, his leg would pin her to the bed. When she managed to squirm out from beneath his leg, his arm would find its way around her again. Just as she was about to threaten death in the most painful description she could conjure up, his hand covered her mouth to silence her.

"Juss sleep," he instructed, beginning to drift off. "Ugh! D'you bite me?"

"If you ever do that again, I will shoot off each and every appendage on your body."

She made one final attempt to escape from his grasp before her exasperation gave way to exhaustion.

"Was that so hard?"

And the aggravation was back ten-fold.

"I hate you."

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Only two more days left! Let me know where you'd like to see this end up. :)


	11. Chapter 11

She wasn't sure what exactly woke her first, but once she had become conscious of her situation, everything seemed to hit her at once. A violent, pounding pain ripped through her skull in time with her pulse. Her mouth felt like she'd been chewing on cotton balls. Her neck was cramped from the awkward angle she'd been sleeping in. Knots had taken up residence in her stomach. The jeans she had worn the day before were digging into her hips. Her legs were numb from an uncomfortable weight across them. Adding to all of her problems was the deeply resonating noise from right next to her. The vibrating, reverberating, horrible noise that made her want to scream, if only it wouldn't exacerbate all her other pains.

Castle was snoring.

The bastard.

She swung her arm in his direction with as much strength as she could muster, and was satisfied when she had successfully made contact.

Immediately, she regretted that action when his whining became louder than his snores.


	12. Chapter 12

When she woke again, the bed was noticeably cold. Using the sheet to shield her eyes from potential rays of assaulting light, she turned her head to look around the room. She was surprised to not see him sitting next to the bed, watching her as she slept. She was certain that would be what he was up to. He would never pass up the opportunity to observe, yet he wasn't in the room. Slowly, she climbed out of the bed and made her way out into the hall.

Thankfully, as she moved through the loft, there was no sign of anyone else. She almost wished that she had done something to be ashamed of, so this walk of shame wouldn't feel so needlessly awkward. If someone were to catch her, there would be no way to convince them their assumptions were incorrect.

She had just finished slipping on her heels when she heard a pained groan come from the kitchen. She debated with herself for a few moments about whether to investigate the source of the noise, or to ignore it and leave. As she walked towards the kitchen, she wondered where the level of compassion that had surfaced within her had come from, especially when it concerned Castle.

She found him with his head in his arms on the table, and she couldn't help but laugh. Roughly, she mussed up his hair before grabbing the toast from the plate he had pushed away from him.

"I'm leaving now. You need me to call someone?" When she received a moan in response, she dug in her purse, pulled out some Advil, and placed it in front of him. "Right, so, since I obviously won, I'll just be taking this and be on my way," she said as she made her way to his wallet on the counter and removed $50.

She heard a scoff as she started to leave again, and then in a quiet voice came,"If all it cost was $50 and a headache to get you in my bed, clearly I am the real winner."

She crumpled the money and lobbed it at his head.

"You could have just asked me to dinner!"

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Thank you for all your reviews! I really appreciate all of them. Know that I love you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts, even if I wasn't able to respond to you personally. :) Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas, or had a wonderful holiday that you do celebrate, or if neither of those apply, a wonderful Saturday.


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